


The Castle of Pyroars

by Wenzel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Pokemon AU, because the Galran Empire is not good, i spent an hour and a half building each Paladin's poketeam rip my productivity, mentions of the other Paladins and Allura, no matter the universe, warning for mentions of people hurting Pokemon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 20:30:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11767782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wenzel/pseuds/Wenzel
Summary: Keith, Pidge, Lance and Hunk are the Elite Four. Shiro is the Champion. Allura runs the Altean Pokemon League. And Zarkon and his Empire won't leave them in peace.A little Sheith AU where Keith and Shiro's pasts come back to haunt them.





	The Castle of Pyroars

“C’mon,” Shiro said. Noivern looked up from her plate of fruit juices. “We have to talk to the others.” He held out his hand. “I’m sure Keith’ll have brought Banette. You two can talk.”

Noivern chirped and scuttled away from the plate. She was too large to ride on his shoulders, but she was big enough to press against him, her sticky fur smearing fruit juice on his shirt. Shiro reached down and scratched behind her ears. She followed after him as he walked. Her body wasn’t built for walking far, but she’d learned to manage in the confines of the Castle of Lions.

There were five levels to the Castle, each stretching out for miles. The Victory Road so typical to other leagues wasn’t separate for the Altean League: it’d been integrated into the Elite Four experience. As a consequence, healing stations were scattered throughout the marble halls and metal walls. Bored nurses waited on the top floors; busy nurses worked away on the bottom level. 

The meeting room had been built into the third floor-- Pidge’s floor. That way, Lance and Hunk didn’t have to climb the entire building for quick talks. “We should just use video conferencing,” Pidge had said once, but Shiro found that people hid stress a little too easily on vidlinks. Hunk had needed two vacations in the past year, all of them forced by the Lions and Allura. As the first floor Lion, he got slammed the most every day. Sending him on a paid vacation to Alola and having Keith run the first floor had done two things: one, Hunk had returned with new Pokemon and no more dark circles, while Keith had got the most battling exercise he’d since the Altea League had restarted.

Keith was already there when Shiro pushed the door open to the meeting room. The Castle enjoyed modern architecture with pale colours, simple design, and soft shapes. Lacy drapes fluttered in the wind that poured in from wide, open windows. Keith sat on the couch, his legs crossed and his shoes on the floor. Banette waited beside him.

“Did you get anyone today?” Shiro asked as he took a seat beside Keith. He sprawled over the puffy pillows. Something in his back cracked, and it felt like heaven. Noivern leaned against the couch’s front and pressed her nose against Banette’s stomach.  _ Come play _ , she was saying. Banette leapt from the couch and scuttled away, deeper into the room’s tables and chairs. Noivern bounded after. 

Keith leaned against Shiro. “A brat or two. Pidge said there’s a storm of a trainer heading my way, though.” He grimaced. “Someone from the Empire.”

Shiro stiffened before he forced his body to relax, limb by limb. “Pidge was pissed, wasn’t she?”

“Furious. They stole her family’s work, after all. And now they’re coming to both of us.” Keith shook his head. “I wish the League Association would disqualify the Empire from every competition.”

“They pour too much money into this for that to happen.” Shiro sighed. “They even run an entire branch of the League.” Shiro knew that branch well: he’d been one of the Elite Four for it until Keith had challenged him. 

Keith looked away. “All the money in the world doesn’t stop them from being cruel.” Keith reached over to touch Shiro’s leg, as though reassuring himself that Shiro still existed. “If I see this challenger hurt their Pokemon--”

“I won’t expect you to hold back,” Shiro said. Keith’s hands gripped his pant leg tightly. “We’ll report them.” Keith’s year at the Empire’s school had left even more scars than Shiro thought. “They won’t pull anything, though. You know they value their publicity too much.”

“Those in positions do.” The cold in Keith’s voice unsettled Shiro. “The average student’s a monster, Shiro. They’re encouraged to be.” He looked over his shoulder Banette. The Pokemon sat beside Noivern as they spoke in trills, chirps, and growls. “...Banette wasn’t always mine.” Shiro stiffened. “I took it by force from someone who kept trying to drive it into a Mega Evolution. I know I shouldn’t be bitter. It’s the past, and I know that student will probably feel terrible for what they did when they’re out of the Empire. But I remember instructors telling me to push every single Pokemon I had to their limits and beyond. Even if they got hurt.”

Shiro reached down and clasped Keith’s fist in his open palm. “Hey,” he said. “Look at me?” Keith met his eyes. Keith’s steady expression hid the turmoil in his eyes well. “I know what the Empire is like. I don’t think either of us will ever forget our time with them. What matters, Keith, is that you came for me. You left what you knew and you worked your way into challenging me. And now, we’re free.”

The tension in Keith whooshed out with Keith’s sigh. He slumped against Shiro. “...You don’t miss it, then.”

“No,” Shiro said. “There was a sense of camaraderie, yeah. But it was poisonous. The people I met were not kind or helpful. Zarkon pushed everyone past their limits. Did I learn things? Sure. Just like you did at the Empire’s school.”

Keith’s grip on his leg tightened. “Then neither of us are going anywhere.” Keith forced a lopsided smile. “Absol will be happy. Is he with you?”

“He is!” Shiro reached down and tapped an Ultra Ball at his waist. “Once we close for the night, I’m taking him down to the lake. Are you staying at the Castle or flying home?”

“Staying,” Keith said. “If Pidge’s estimation about the challenger is right, then he’ll turn up on my doorstep as soon as we open again.” Keith frowned. “She said he likes to use ghost, ice, and poison. He’s in for a nasty surprise when he faces me.”

“You don’t sound happy about it.”

“Most Empire trainers don’t take losing well.” Keith released his grip on Shiro’s trousers. He breathed deep, his eyes drifting closed. “And I might know him, Shiro. It’s been a couple of years, but I won’t be surprised if I did practice battles against him as homework.”

Shiro frowned. He hadn’t thought of that. Shiro knew his ties to the Empire well, but Keith’s time at the Empire’s school had always been personal information. Keith gave pieces in little snippets-- comments about the Empire’s companies, gym leaders, or even snide remarks about growing names in the Empire’s League.

“Pidge hasn’t given you the challenger’s name?” Shiro glued his gentle expression in place.

Keith shrugged. “Not yet.”

How did he say it? “I have the name,” Shiro said. “Most likely. It’d be in the League records.” Shiro couldn’t smile. “If you want to be prepared…”

“I should ask now,” Keith finished. Another deep breath as he reached up to rub his eyes. Keith wasn’t the type to cry, but he  _ was _ the type to get headaches from stress. “Do it. It’d be better to know and be prepared than not and get a nasty surprise.”

As Shiro pulled out his phone and began to search, Keith fiddled with his Pokedex. The Pokedex beeped and clicked as Keith worked away at whatever would best distract him from what Shiro hunted for. The name Shro found was familiar, but not instantly recognizable.

“Lotor,” Shiro said. Keith stiffened beside him. “He’s beaten a few other Leagues. He has all the badges for the Empire’s league, but he never bothered to challenge the Elite Four or the Champion.”

“Probably because his father is the Champion.” Keith shuddered as he breathed out. “So it’s Lotor. I didn’t think I’d see him again.”

The words were bitter and wistful, and Shiro reached out to touch Keith’s shoulder. “You knew him well?”

Keith stared out the open balcony doors. “It was hard not to. He liked to gather people around him, and he noticed me. It wasn’t anything like we have. You understand that, right?”

Shiro nodded. “Even if it was,” Shiro said, “it’s long over. I’m just worried if he did anything to you.”

“Some lies, a few gifts, and a strange amount of respect.” Keith looked over at Shiro with a lopsided smile. “I don’t miss him, Shiro. He’s as fucked up as the rest of them.” He leaned in and showed Shiro his Pokedex. He’d built a team, Shiro realized, specifically to destroy Lotor’s favoured types. “I know Allura won’t be happy about me making a special team, but I’m not going to let him win.”

He’d even brought Incineroar to his roster. “I’ll cover for you,” Shiro said. “We’re going to make a  _ statement _ to the Empire.” Keith smirked, and the expression cleansed every bitter thought and ounce of sour anger from him. Relief and joy came, and Shiro couldn’t resist a laugh. “You’re going to break him, aren’t you?”

“If he’s lucky, that’ll be it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed the fic! If you want more of my writing, you can find me at the-wenzel.tumblr.com. <3


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